His big brother Ben is already the proud owner of two Academy Awards and now Casey has followed in his ­footsteps after several years in the ­wilderness since making disastrous hoax film I’m Still Here.

But there were icy expressions all through the Dolby Theatre when Brie Larson announced that Affleck Jnr was the recipient of this year’s Best Actor accolade for Manchester by the Sea.

And the reason isn’t just because Hollywood is still rather peeved that Casey made a terrible movie that poked fun at the culture of celebrity.

I’m Still Here starred Casey’s then brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix and purported to be a documentary following his efforts to become a rapper.

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Very few people seem to have actually seen the movie but it’s been in the spotlight again in recent months — since Casey’s chance of bagging an Oscar became apparent.

That’s because two of the women who worked on the 2010 film named Casey in sexual harassment suits that they filed.

Producer Amanda White and cinematographer Magdalena Gorka sued Affleck for $2million and $2.5million respectively and gave accounts of how they were disrespected and sleazed on while making the 2010 movie.

Casey Affleck was overcome with emotion as he was named the winner of Best Actor at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night

In her complaint, Gorka alleged that she woke one night to find Casey in her bed caressing her back.

The Gone Baby Gone actor has denied all the charges and settled the claims out of court.

After a hiatus from the spotlight, all eyes are now back on Casey — who recently separated from his wife, Joaquin’s sister Summer — since his starring role in indie hit Manchester by the Sea, which has cleaned up at the never-ending awards season.

He’s clearly been schooled on how to deal with difficult questions, trotting out lines about how he doesn’t consider himself a star — which is funny considering that it’s unlikely he won the Oscar without playing the Hollywood game.

In one recent interview, he insisted that he cannot comment on the case.

He said: “There’s really nothing I can do about it. Other than live my life the way I know I live it and to speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time.”

Because the claims of harassment are old and have been settled, we’ll never quite know the truth. Maybe Casey is a good man who has been cruelly demonised by these two women. Maybe.

But with such uncertainty remaining, it does make it difficult to feel happy that questionable Casey has been honoured at such a prestigious event.

Abuse activist Larson was just one of the many stars whose faces suggested that they are not quite thrilled to see the acting profession’s top organisation honouring the younger Affleck.

Like all movie underdogs, Casey’s stellar performance in Manchester by the Sea made him — in theory — a perfect and deserving winner.

The problem is that this is a true tale and it’s just a little hard to celebrate an anti-hero.

Trump the sofa Kell

I’M a little bored by the faux outrage that’s being bandied about every time Donald Trump or his team so much as sneeze.
This week, Trump’s Counselor Kellyanne Conway was in the firing line because she kneeled on a couch.
The seasoned media pro was pictured with her feet behind her on an Oval Office sofa as she directed a photocall.
The internet’s overzealous Trump bashers went into meltdown as they vilified her for ‘disrespecting’ the White House.
Kellyanne explained: “I was asked to take a certain angle and was doing exactly that. I certainly meant no disrespect, I didn’t mean to have my feet on the couch.”
The problem is that every time people go crazy over a non-issue like this, it’s a distraction from the real ones — like Trump’s plans to increase military spending or revising his travel ban.
While a Trump presidency offers plenty of causes for concern, his aid’s knees on a couch is not something we should waste energy on.

Taking a brow at the Oscars

IT takes a lot of time and effort to look good at the Oscars.

And, surprisingly, it seems that Hollywood’s menfolk are just as particular about their appearance when hitting the red carpet.

Leonardo DiCaprio apparently flew his brow artist 12,000km to LA to give his strays a shaping.

Australian Sharon-Lee Hamilton was flown from Sydney to the US to pluck the superstar’s stragglers.

Leo’s pal Tobey Maguire was also said to have availed of Shazza’s services.

The brow queen’s trimming and tidying service costs $200, or around €190, plus her costs — which was a trans-Pacific airline ticket in this case.

With the Wolf of Wall Street and Titanic star known for his environmental campaigning, the move has, ironically, raised a few eyebrows.

Let’s hope for his sake that they are perfectly coiffed ones.

Number up for PWC lad

SPARE a moment to think about the poor accountant at the centre of the Oscars Best Picture controversy. Brian Cullinan, a proud Irish-American, looked thrilled with himself as he posed with his briefcase of envelopes at the start of the night. Along with another PwC partner Martha Ruiz, he was responsible for keeping the names of the winners under lock and key — and ensuring the right envelopes were given out to presenters on the night. Unfortunately, our pal Brian didn’t do such a great job. In fact, his cock-up led to a fiasco where La La Land was accidentally named Best Picture ahead of the real one Moonlight. I’m going to play on stereotypes and suggest that after years of crunching numbers in an office, the excitement of his new glitzy gig went to this accountant’s head. It was an embarrassing blunder, of course, but it was also a moment of reality in an event that is staged to its core. The real loser is, no doubt, Brian who has probably been condemned to a lifetime of auditing tax returns.

More Irish millionaires on the way

GOOD news for go-getters — play your cards right and you might be a millionaire.

The number of Irish people with seven-figure bank balances is set to grow by a third over the next ten years.

A new wealth report has predicted an additional 24,900 will be classified as millionaires by 2026.

Estate agent Knight Frank’s annual wealth report has found that Irish people with investable assets of more than €950,000 grew by 4,700 last year — which does not include a home.

The data also shows a third of Ireland’s millionaires live in the capital.

So keep working hard — or doing the Lotto.

Gilligan faces homelessness

IT’S hard to find words to sum up scum like John Gilligan. The pint-sized hood’s arrogance has come to the fore again after he this week approached a local authority about getting a home. The convicted drug trafficker presented himself at Fingal County Council claiming he is facing homelessness. With CAB taking his equestrian centre Jessbrook, Gilligan wants the Housing Assistance Payment, which offers social housing support to those with a long-term housing need. Gilligan, whose gang killed journalist Veronica Guerin 20 years ago, made millions as a drug trafficker and spent 17 years in prison. His legal battle with CAB has cost the State €1million-plus. Now he wants us taxpayers to stump up for his gaff? There’s only one place I want to see him — behind bars.